Agatha Christie: Poirot - Mrs McGinty's Dead

"When charwoman Mrs McGinty is found brutally murdered in her home it looks like an open and shut case, and her introverted lodger James Bentley is swiftly sentenced to death for the crime. But both his friend Maude Williams and Superintendent Spence have their doubts about his guilt, and so Spence asks Hercule Poirot to investigate and find the evidence that will put his conscience to rest. In the affluent village of Broadhinny Poirot is a paying guest of Major and Maureen Summerhayes. He finds that the titled and privileged villagers treat him with disdain, especially the MP Guy Carpenter, his glamorous wife, Eve, Dr Rendell and his anxious wife, Shelagh. But he is soon reunited with Mrs Oliver, a guest of the dashing young playwright Robin Upward and his elderly mother, and together they realise that Mrs McGinty was silenced after threatening to expose someone connected to a murder committed many years ago. Ever conscious of the hangman's noose around Bentley's neck, the little detective can't conceal his delight when someone makes an attempt on his own life as it proves there's more to be revealed. And when old Mrs Upward is murdered, Poirot finally sees through the deception that has been woven around the case, and is able to reveal a startling truth that turns everyone's previous assumptions on their heads. But will it exonerate Bentley and save him from the gallows?"